Wayne Newton and Robert E. Lee's sword?

[Mike Serpa]

Wayne Newton casually mentions he has a sword of Robert E. Lee's.
Go to 2:12 of this video shot inside his home.
Your thoughts, please.

 

[mofederal]

That is different Mike, if that is the sword, I wonder when Lee owned it. Prewar I would say. Thanks for posting this @Mike Serpa.

 

[Mike Serpa]

That is different Mike, if that is the sword, I wonder when Lee owned it. Prewar I would say. Thanks for posting this @Mike Serpa.

Thanks. I don't know how many swords Lee owned.

 

[diane]

That sword is indeed odd, from earlier than the 19th century I'd think. If it really is Lee's, wonder if it was his father's?

 

[James N.]

Thanks. I don't know how many swords Lee owned.

I have no idea either, but here are some thoughts on the subject: As officers or officer cadets, nineteenth century military gentlemen were expected to clothe, equip, and arm themselves NOT at government expense! That meant they were required to BUY all that stuff - that's why their pay was substantially higher than the notorious $13 a month for privates at the time of the war. Unfortunately for them this was also prior to the sensible adoption of the regulation M.1902 Saber for All Officers which was used for everybody regardless of rank or branch-of-service.

In Lee's particular case he would've at least been required to have at one time or another:
as a West Point Cadet the sword for that;
as an officer of Engineers the distinctive and now very rare smallsword for that for dress purposes;
as a mounted staff officer during the Mexican War the M.1840 Saber for Officers of Light Artillery;
and as an officer of the 2d U.S. Cavalry, the M.1840 Dragoon Officers' Saber

In addition, staff officers serving in combat situations such as Lee did in Mexico often added for their personal protection enlisted men's models of either M.1840 Light Artillery or Dragoon sabers so as to "save" their officers swords; these might have been "borrowed" from available stock-on-hand and not purchased.

 

[ucvrelics]

I would like to see the provenance on that one

 

[James N.]

I just broke down and looked at this - the sword in question is a modern copy of one retrieved from Napoleon's carriage after the Battle of Waterloo. The original now resides in the Duke of Wellington's Apsley House in downtown London. Napoleon had planned to wear it during his triumphal entry into Brussels, but Fate decreed otherwise!

 

[diane]

I just broke down and looked at this - the sword in question is a modern copy of one retrieved from Napoleon's carriage after the Battle of Waterloo. The original now resides in the Duke of Wellington's Apsley House in downtown London.

Ah, so Wayne hasn't got Robert E Lee's sword?

 

[James N.]

Ah, so Wayne hasn't got Robert E Lee's sword?

Napoleon's sword also served as the model when they needed a really spiffy-looking one to be the magical sword of Godric Griffyndor with which Harry kills the basilisk in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:

It also shows up later in The Deathly Hallows, Part II when Neville Longbottom uses it to behead the last horcrux, Lord Voldemort's "pet" snake:

 

[James N.]

I finally found a good picture of the original online - it's the one at far right and came cased with three different scabbards so it could be color-coded to Napoleon's various outfits - costumes, really - and was NOT a typical military or "everyday" sword. This type of sword is often called a glaive. The old photo below shows it cased as it was found and removed from Napoleon's abandoned carriage; it was one of Wellington's greatest war trophies! The very curved silver sword or saber in the center above is the one Wellington himself wore in the Battle of Waterloo; I saw this display when I visited Apsley House in March of 1986.

 

[James N.]

Wayne Newton casually mentions he has a sword of Robert E. Lee's.
Go to 2:12 of this video shot inside his home.
Your thoughts, please.

Ah, so Wayne hasn't got Robert E Lee's sword?

Consider the source - he could have Godric Griffyndor's sword.

 

[Mike Serpa]

Thanks, James N. No Robert E. Lee sword for Wayne Newton it seems.

 

[Northern Light]

It makes one wonder at the provenance of any of his collection.

 

[MC44]

Maybe it was actually from his role as the commandant of Libby Prison in North and South 2?

 

[mofederal]

I guess the moral of the story is have a couple of hit records, and play Vegas the rest of your life, you get rich, way to rich.

 

[WJC]

Wayne Newton casually mentions he has a sword of Robert E. Lee's.
Go to 2:12 of this video shot inside his home.
Your thoughts, please.

Interesting collection. Thanks for sharing.

 

[pfcjking]

He probably bought that sword from PawnStars.

Sword talk aside, I think Wayne Newton's face has been stretched to maximum capacity.

 

[kholland]

Thanks, James N. No Robert E. Lee sword for Wayne Newton it seems.

And a Danke Shoen to boot!!!!! Sorry it was there and I could not resist.

 

[Mike Serpa]

And a Danke Shoen to boot!!!!! Sorry it was there and I could not resist.

I didn't think enough to use 'danke schoen' instead of 'thanks'

 

[Northern Light]

https://www.google.ca/search?q=wayn...UHA6wKHZyZBYgQ_AUICSgA&biw=1600&bih=763&dpr=1